


Just A Dash Of Fairy-maldehyde

by buttercupross



Category: Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, Human!Brendon, M/M, Nymph!Ryan, Ryan is flustered so so easily, also I know the pun in the title is awful don't harass me, this seems weird but read it it's cute I promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-13 16:48:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9132850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttercupross/pseuds/buttercupross
Summary: Brendon had never expected to even meet a real nymph, let alone fall for one.





	1. The First Half

Brendon shuffled his feet along the wet grass, his untied shoelaces dragging in the dirt behind him. His eyes were intently pressed against the pages of his copy of The Great Gatsby while taking occasional bites out of the half-eaten apple loosely gripped in his opposite hand, the wind ruffling his untidy hair. 

He had always loved the woods. Ever since he had been a little kid it was his safe space. Quiet, people free, always smelling like damp leaves and sunlight. He knew the mostly-destroyed paths like the veins on the back of his own hand, where they split, how they curved. In fact, he couldn't really remember a time where he had actually gotten lost before, despite his terrible sense of direction. So naturally, when Brendon had a not-so-great day, he usually found himself wandering in the woods, lost in a book, trying to let himself to forget the past 24 hours. Even if it was getting a bit dark and chilly.

He shrugged his shoulders in attempt to reposition his lightweight, gray jacket, the breeze pulling at his hair and folding back the thin pages of his book. The sun was just starting to duck behind the clouds, allowing a few bright, orange rays to splotch the ground beneath his feet as he took a bite of his apple, the leaves of the tall, dark trees above him rumpling in the slight wind.

Abruptly, he jolted his head upwards as a loud crash emitted from a nearby tree, his eyes wide with alarm as his heart spiked into his throat. He stopped chewing, slowing down his movements as his eyes darted around, searching for a sign of whatever animal had made it.

It's not that he really had an issue with the animals because in actuality, he spent quite a bit of his time watching them, but since the incident with the rabid raccoon, he's been, well, more _cautious_.

He stopped himself from jumping as it repeated the noise, accompanied by a soft panting sound. Maybe it was hurt?

Slowly, he made his way towards the noise, cringing as he broke a stick under his shoe, his entire body freezing.

 _Crash_. "Ugh!"

That was definitely not an animal. Confused, he looked around, straightening his posture as his heart started to drum in his chest.

"Is someone there?" He pushed his hair out of his eyes, turning his head towards the sound when he felt a pair of large, cold hands press against his shoulder blades, forcefully knocking him to the damp, muddy ground with a squishy thud. He huffed, shaking his head as blood began to pump in his ears, his heart pulsing vigorously.

Moist dirt clung to his palms as he pushed himself back up, too on edge to feel badly about his page being lost. "What the hell," He muttered under his breath as he looked around frantically, his heart sinking into his stomach.

Light filtered through the ruffling trees as the low-laying plants swayed gently, a cool, moist breeze whisking away a few fallen leaves. He felt his heart skip a beat.

Nothing. There was absolutely nothing there.

He sighed, trying to collect himself as he brushed the dirt off of his pants, picking up his book and tucking it in the large pocket on the inside of his coat. His tight, light-colored jeans were undoubtedly stained and a shame really, they were his favorite pair.

"Pete, I swear to fucking god this isn't funny." Brendon called out, his voice uncontrollably quivering.

He heard a light, childish snort as his heart sank, his lips parted as chewed on his lower softly. That was definitely not Pete, either.

The dirty, inedible apple was trembling in his hand as he raised it, prepared to throw as he turned in a 360, scanning the empty woods. He had seen horror movies about people who were raped or murdered while on walks woods with no one in shouting distance, people who were never found. He had never thought he would be one of those people- the woods was suppose to be safe, not the place where his body would be broadcasted all over live television, littered with stab wounds. Or bullet holes. Or what if they tried to strangle him? Brendon thought he could take them. Sure, he wasn't very big but he was strong enough to hold someone off, after all, he had tackled that 200 pound midfielder earlier and how different were they really? You know, despite the fact that a serial killer would be carrying a gun instead of a lacrosse stick.

Brendon took a deep breath. He needed to stop being ridiculous, he was only scaring himself. This was just some kid on the team he had faced earlier playing a trick on him. That's all.

He felt his stomach flop as the apple in his hand started to cave in under his tight grasp, a sickly smell drifting through his nose as he almost gagged. He looked up at it, dropping it instantaneously when he realized it was rotting in his palm, the browning skin getting soggy and ripping under his finger tips. Not only did it gross him out, but frankly, it was quite freaky as well and he had to use every ounce of strength in his body to prevent himself from letting out a scream. He stared at the decomposing apple by his feet, unable to form any comprehensible words. 

"Ow! What the fuck!?" Brendon let out a yell as a sharp rock struck him in the lower back, shooting a small burst of pain through his skin, his heart suspended in his chest. He spun around, one hand on the spot where he was hit, the other positioned awkwardly outwards as if to protect himself somehow.

His dark eyes widened in shock as they landed on a tall boy who was pacing around him frantically, his big hands tangled in his messy, dark brown curls, his eyes pressed to the soggy ground as he kicked at sticks, huffing angrily. He didn't have a gun, Brendon noted.

"Who the fuck are you!?" Brendon asked, completely disoriented as he straightened his back, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion as he stared at the boy uncertainly.

The boy looked up, an equally dumbfounded expression on his face as he removed his hands from his hair, balling them in fists by his sides. He shook his head, his almond-shaped, saffron-colored eyes squinting as he frowned, sucking on the inside of his cheek. "Are you lost or something?" He asked irately, completely ignoring Brendon's question as he fumed, picking a pebble up off the ground and chucking it at the nearest tree full force.

"Uh," Brendon managed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. The boy picked up another rock, his face twisting in anger as he brushed his curls out of his face.

Brendon stuttered, failing to produce any real, coherent noise as he exhaled softly.

He had soft, small features, emphasized by his wide glinting honey-colored eyes, which stood out against his dark eyelashes and hair, his smooth-looking pale skin almost seeming to glow in the fading sunlight.

"I can't say I am."

He glared at Brendon quickly before whipping the rock at the ground in frustration, his cheeks glowing red. His tall, thin frame was emphasized by the baggy, dark green, flight jacket he had on, his tight, black pants tucked into a pair of dull, gray-brown boots that rose half way up his calf. His arms weren't very muscular, but neither was any other part of his body for that matter, but it didn't take away from his beauty at all. If anything, it made him more attractive.

Brendon had decided that this was possibly the most gorgeous boy he had seen in a very, very long time. In fact, he was so distractingly gorgeous, that it took Brendon a full 40 seconds to recognize the crown of bright, yellow-orange leaves tangled into his curls. Brendon thought that had not the boy been scowling, he would've been too mesmerized to notice it– not that it was any less weird than it sounded because it truly was pretty odd, his imminent beauty just eased the shock a little bit.

"Are you, are you okay? You seem a little... tense, you know?" Brendon asked, his teeth sinking into his lower lip.

He looked at Brendon, his shaped jaw clenching as he shook his head side to side, his eyes flashing with annoyance.

"Well, I think that uh, you should probably find a better way to cope with your anger than to throw rocks at innocent boys walking alone in the woods." The boy huffed, looking at Brendon as if he had suggested something completely ludicrous.

Brendon shrugged, running a hand through his hair self-consciously. "Just um, just a suggestion. You could throw them at trees, or the ground, just preferably not anything with a pulse or flesh."

"Shut up, will you?" he sighed, waving Brendon off with a flick of his wrist. Brendon found himself at a loss for words as the boy coiled his long fingers into fists by his waist, looking like he was about to beat himself up.

"What if you found a non-violent, pacifistic substitute to manage your temper, you know, that doesn't involve a rock, or me,"

"Are you a psychiatrist or something?" He asked, his eyes glowing vexatiously. _No,_ Brendon thought, _he wasn't_. But considering this boy clearly had some uncontrollable anger-management issues, he was really, _really_ wishing that he was.

"Just trying to help, I guess." Brendon said, picking at a hang-nail nervously.

"Help." The boy repeated, laughing sardonically, "I have issues you couldn't even begin to wrap your pretty little mind around!" He exclaimed loudly and Brendon couldn't necessarily disagree. "You– you just, you deserved to get that rock thrown at you! You're a loud chewer and you stomp when you walk and it was really disrupting my, m-my–"

"Meltdown?" Brendon supplied, rising his eyebrows.

"It wasn't a meltdown! I was, it was just, not the point! Okay?"

Brendon half-smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

" _You_ want to help? This- you don't make any sense, you're probably the dumbest thing on Earth you couldn't ever possibly help," He stopped short, taking a breath as he looked at Brendon, his frown shifting into a neutral expression for a split second. "Maybe, actually. If you," He paused, the wind ruffling his hair, "Y'know what? No. Nevermind." He mumbled embarrassedly, brushing it off with a wave of his hand.

"Gladly." Brendon murmured, trying not to feel insulted or too confused by his sudden change in demeanor.

He started walking back and forth again, shaking his head.

"Do you hear that?" Brendon asked as the boy stopped pacing to look at him.

"What?"

"It sounds like bells, or chimes or something," Brendon babbled, suddenly very aware of how tensely he was gripping the sleeves of his jacket.

He shook his head, frowning as he started to pace again. "See!" Brendon said, causing the boy to stop and give him a look. "Do you have like keys or change in your pockets or something?"

"I don't hear anything." He said in monotone, rolling his eyes as he folded his thin arms over his chest.

"Hold on, take a step."

The boy scowled, letting an angry huff pass by his lips. "No. I'm not going t–"

"Please?" Brendon added with a half-smile.

He rolled his eyes, taking a single step forward, a soft jingle emitting from his foot as it collided with the ground.

"Huh." Brendon said, giving him a skeptical look. "What's with the costume? Is Eve about to jump out at me too?"

The boy looked confused, drawing his dark eyebrows together as he scowled deeper, the corners of his taupe-colored lips tugging downwards at the edges. "Eve?"

"You know, like, Adam and..." Brendon faltered, his words disappearing in his throat when he saw the lost look the boy was giving him. Brendon flicked his eyebrows, awkwardly shooting him a closed-mouth smile.

The boy frowned.

"I meant like, what's with the leaves?"

He pouted, ignoring Brendon's interrogating and returning to pacing. Brendon decided that whilst very attractive, he was probably a lunatic and figured that maybe this was a lost cause.

He sighed, slumping down at the base of the tree behind him, sticks crumpling underneath him as he let himself sink into the ground. "I mean, don't get me wrong, they're lovely, but why?"

The boy looked as if he were about to strangle Brendon, which he quickly decided probably wasn't a good reaction to receive from a strange, leafy kid in the woods. He willed himself to shut up.

The jingling stopped unexpectedly as Brendon frowned, biting his lip as the boy started to mumble to himself lividly.

"What the fuck!?" Brendon shouted, his eyes traveling down towards the boy's feet. He blinked. "Did you drug me?" He yelled, the boy's eyes widening in confusion.

"What? No!" He exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "Then why the fuck are you floating!?"

He looked shocked at first, his cheeks reddening as he parted his lips, his eyes wide in alarm. He landed abruptly with a chime, his head ducking slightly in embarrassment.

"Oh, it, uh," He stuttered as Brendon pushed himself up, his heart pounding in, fear? Terror? Ultimate petrification? "I um levitate when I get like angry, or nervous and stuff, it's a-a habit."

"How endearing." Brendon said, his voice wavering anxiously as his head spun. He needed to leave. There is no way this was actually happening. Boys don't just show up and float and they don't wear leaves and they certainly don't hold Brendon's attention like this one does. This was just weird. He had to go.

"I have to go," Brendon said, turning around as he inhaled shakily.

 _Did that boy really just levitate?_ He must've hit head when he tripped. He needed a doctor.

"No wait! Don't please," He said, gliding quickly over to Brendon who was genuinely about to freak the fuck out. Maybe he was the one who actually needed the psychiatrist.

"Stop doing that!" Brendon shouted, his lower lip quivering. The boy landed, his feet ringing as they touched the ground. "No, please, I really need your help I have a problem," he said, reaching out and grabbing Brendon's arm gently. His pale skin was cold, and Brendon felt himself grow short of breath as he turned, looking straight into his bright, glossy eyes.

"Yeah, no shit you have a problem. In fact, I can list a few. For one, you can walk on air. Two: you _float_. Three: those feet of yours, they can stand in midair,  _without_ –"

"Yeah I got it," He said, looking slightly disheartened as he let go of Brendon's arm. "I meant like a human problem."

Brendon frowned. "What?"

"Like y'know with humans. Like you."

Brendon folded his arms, unimpressed. "Trust me, this one has a problem with you too."

"Just hear me out, okay?" He asked, his voice laced with desperation.

"You threw a rock at my back." Brendon reasoned, his head feeling light. "Yes I did," He said with uncertain frustration, "and it'll happen again if you don't help me."

 _God_ , he thought, his head aching, _I must be going insane_. This whole thing just seemed too unlikely; he showed up out of literal air, blatantly insulated Brendon, chucked a rock so hard at his back that he could already feel it bruising, and then started to float. Fucking _float_. Brendon never realized it, but his sanity was something he prided himself of.

He took a deep breath.

He could easily just leave, curl up in bed with the Great Gatsby and forget about this whole thing. Now that he thought about it, that's exactly what he was going to do.

He decided that he should vocalize this.

He turned his head, his words evaporating in his throat as their eyes locked.

The boy was pouting, his eyelashes beating up against his brow bone as his lip jutted outwards slightly, his warm, amber eyes soft like he hadn't been biting his head off less than five minutes ago. But then again, how many cute boys did he come across in the woods asking for his help?

Brendon sighed, faking a painful smile as he felt himself tense, digging his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

The boy's face light up as he smiled, letting out a soft huff in awe.

Brendon felt his stomach flop as the smile melted off his own face, his heart rate picking up dramatically as the boy beamed at him.

He looked, to summarize, stunning. His eyes sparkled, tiny folds appearing next to them that Brendon would've missed if he hadn't been standing so close, and he couldn't help but notice how cute it was how his thin shoulders shrugged as he ducked his head shyly and Brendon realized he should really stop staring, but he was just so–

"Really? You'll do it?"

Brendon felt himself melt a little bit inside. "If it doesn't put my life at stake, sure."

The boy giggled, clearly trying to contain his excitement. "Okay," He said enraptured, returning his cold hands to Brendon's wrists. "You, um you won't freak out or anything right?"

"I'm already freaked out." Brendon said nonchalantly.

The boy wet his lips, taking a deep breath. "Right. Well I'm," He started brightly, "kinda, I'm," he said his tone waning, "a, uh," He mumbled something inaudibly as his cheeks sparked with heat, a little nervous laugh passing his lips. It would've almost been adorable had Brendon not been so confused. "What?" Brendon asked, leaning in closer so he could hear better. "A nymph." He repeated, shifting his eyes towards his shoes.

"What?" Brendon shouted, pulling his arms away from the boy? _Nymph?_

"You promised you wouldn't freak out!" The thing pleaded, his face sinking as quickly as it light up.

"This has to be some kind of joke. Am I being punk'd?" He shouted, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"No, no I promise, it's no joke."

"This isn't, this isn't real," He said, shaking his head disbelievingly. "I mean, you, you're a boy not uh–a,"

"Nymph?" He supplied, his lips twisted upwards halfway in a smile. "Exactly, that, you don't exist, right? This is just me imagining things, I hit my head when I fell, you don't, this isn't real?"

The nymph snorted, rolling his eyes. "For a human you really are dumb, aren't you?"

"I'm not dumb!" Brendon shouted, scowling.

"You know, you're actually pretty rude too, now that you think about it." He said, taking a step back from Brendon, his features sunken.

Brendon took a deep breath. Leaf boy was right. If he wasn't a figment of Brendon's imagination, which Brendon highly doubted, he was being extremely rude.

He took another deep breath, raising his eyebrows as he looked around. "So, you're um, a nymph." The nymph inhaled, nodding as he tried to fight the smile spreading across his face. "And you have some sort of nymph issue?"

"Well," He began, scratching his nymph hair with his nymph hand. "It's not really nymph related at all actually, well, I mean, partially," He sighed, his eyes adverting towards the dirt.

"Partially?" Brendon repeated, "If this has to do with the plot of land they're taking down to put in the strip mall, my parents voted no on that." 

The nymph looked at him, shaking his head. "Um, that's nice, but no."

Brendon looked at him inquisitively. 

The nymph took a deep breath. "Ok, well, see there's a guy, well I mean, uh a human guy," Brendon raised an eyebrow, pursing his lips. "And," the nymph continued, straightening out his dark olive coat, "he's kind of well, amazing really, and he has this fluffy blonde hair and he's super tall and all that good stuff," Brendon swallowed hard, standing up straighter. "But, I haven't, actually talked to him yet and I was wondering if you could um, help me with that."

Brendon couldn't muster the energy to smile, taking a few steps in the direction of his tree before sitting down on the damp grass. "Well, you're not mute are you?"

The nymph shook his head, "No, I'm not."

"Then ask him on a date."

He looked at him, cocking his head to the side slightly as his light-colored lips parted softly. "A date? Like the fruit?"

Brendon laughed nervously as the boy floated over towards him, dropping cross-legged on the ground in front of him. "No, I mean like uh a date date."

The nymph scowled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What's your name?" Brendon asked him, picking apart a blade of grass.

He smiled slightly, running a hand through his curls. "Ryan." He paused, frowning down at Brendon's hand. "That's not very nice."

Brendon stopped tearing the grass, slightly confused. "Oh um sorry." He mumbled towards the ground, which made Ryan giggle.

Brendon froze, still half-stunned by how beautiful his laugh sounded as he struggled to remember how to breathe. "Ryan? That's a pretty normal name for an elf. I have to admit, I'm kind of disappointed. I was hoping that you would introduce yourself as oak, or like–"

"I am a nymph." Ryan said, balling his hands into fists by his sides as his cheeks flushed red.

"Right, sorry." Brendon laughed, trying to reassemble the blade of grass.

"Yours?" Ryan asked, his nimble fingers drumming against his knee irritatedly, like he wished that any other human had stumbled into his woods. Brendon wondered because he was having such a strong reaction to himself, if maybe Ryan would've possibly combusted if someone like Donald Trump had decided to take a hike in the forrest instead.

"Brendon," Brendon said, dropping his grass pieces once he failed to revive them.

"Huh," Ryan said, his fingertips starting to glow.

"No!" Brendon scolded as Ryan looked up, alarmed, "I'll help you, but god, no more of that freaky magic shit okay?"

He stopped, looking almost guilty as he sighed. "I can't help it."

"Well, you're going to have to if you ever want to get your boyfriend into bed, because trust me, magic is a huge turn-off."

Ryan pulled his legs in towards his chest, looking down at his feet.

"Why don't you just ask him out?" Brendon said, staring at his sneakers.

"I don't think you're really getting this," He said with unnecessary exasperation, running one of his long, spindly hands through his curls. "I'm a nymph!"

Brendon folded his hands together in his lap patiently. "Yeah, I–"

"No, I can't talk to boys! I float, and I-I stutter and do freaky magic shit that turns people off and," He stopped himself, burying his head in his hands. "I'm just not meant to socialize with people."

Brendon felt his heart splutter, his hand trembling slightly as he reached over and gave Ryan's shoulder a squeeze.

"Hey, sure I mean, it's weird, yeah, but you're a lot better-looking than I expected nymphs to be you know, and you have a little bit of a temperament, but it's," He froze as Ryan looked up, locking eyes with him which caused his cheeks to flush a light shade of pink, "I mean it's kinda cute." Brendon finished, clearing his throat.

Ryan's face melted into a soft smile, his eyes shifting towards his feet again. "Humans are really touchy aren't they?"

Brendon slid his hand off of Ryan's shoulder, leaning back up against the tree behind him. "Nymphs are really over-dramatic aren't they?"

"No! Just this one," Ryan muttered, his face flushing as he realized what he was saying. Brendon felt himself smile, folding his hands in his lap.

"But, um, the human thing." Ryan began as Brendon looked at him intently, "I kind of tried to talk to him today."

Brendon fought back a laugh. "And how'd that work?"

"Well, I was, um, I forgot to become un-invisible so he kind of freaked out and ran away."

"Is that why you were having your little meltdown?" Brendon asked, his lips parted softly.

Ryan nodded, looking ashamed. Brendon felt his heart sink as Ryan's soft, golden glow faded slightly.

"Hey, there's no need to be like that, do you know if he's in high school or not?" Ryan shrugged. "If you want, um tomorrow, I could bring you to school and you could see if he's there early. I mean uh, you could probably ask him out then, if he's there, which like most people are. There. Early." He babbled, feeling very untalented in the speaking department as Ryan smiled at him, Brendon finding himself staring at Ryan's lips as he fumbled through his sentence.

"You'd really do that for me?" He asked, his voice breathy as he grinned, his eyes sparkling.

Brendon felt his mouth go dry. "Um, sure yeah."

Before he could react, Ryan had flung his arms around his shoulders, pulling Brendon's face in close to his chest, practically crushing him as he felt his stomach flutter. He smelt like damp wood and pine.

"Thank you Brendon. Thank you, thank you, thank you." He chimed excitedly, squeezing him tighter.

"Right." Brendon gulped, hesitantly wrapping his arms around Ryan's fragile shoulders, "Just leave the leaves at home okay? They kind of make you look like the Jolly Green Giant."

"Who?"

* * *

Brendon had gotten up early, pulled on his second favorite pair of jeans, fixed his hair, quickly scribbled a note down for his mom when she woke up, stuffed three muffins into a bag, practically jumped into his windbreaker and started into the woods, his entire body tingling with excitement. He realized that sure, today Ryan was probably going to ask out a guy that wasn't him, but honestly he was far too happy to put down by that just then. When he had to worry about that, he would, but right now all of his focus was just on seeing Ryan. Talking to Ryan. Listening to Ryan laugh and watching him frown and just being with Ryan while Ryan was Ryan-ing. Ryan was so cute.

The woods was cold as Brendon pushed leaves out of the way with the side of his sneaker, his breath visible in the crisp, autumn air, making his way towards the space they had met at yesterday. Brendon didn't quite fully understand why he was so anxious, but he couldn't seem to stop the endless stream of butterflies from beating against the inside of his stomach as he let his feet lead him, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

He took a deep breath as his eyes fell on Ryan who was waiting for him, his lip fitted in-between his teeth nervously as he picked at a rip in his tight, black jeans. His head perked up as soon as he heard Brendon's footsteps, a small, angelic smile spreading across his lips tensely.

If it was possible, he looked even more breathtaking than yesterday. He was sitting cross-legged against a tree, his tousled brown curls looking slightly messier than they had previously, his eyes brighter with more enthusiasm.

Brendon realized he shouldn't get his hopes up because the happy mood was definitely not from his company, but he couldn't resist letting his imagination guide him.

"Hey there fairy boy," Brendon said as Ryan scowled a little bit, clearly too cheerful to really be bothered by his comment. "Do you like muffins?" Ryan's fake frown broke away as he chewed on his lower lip nervously.

"Nymph. It's um nymph boy," He said, his eyes flickering towards the brown paper bag in the hand that wasn't holding Brendon's half eaten muffin. "What's that?"

"Yours." Brendon said, outstretching his hand, Ryan giving him a skeptical look.

"What's inside?"

"Four million dollars." Brendon deadpanned, raising his eyebrows.

Ryan looked up at him, folding his arms over his chest uninterestedly.

"They're muffins. Try one."

Ryan stared blankly, clearly debating with himself whether or not it would be a good idea. Brendon tapped his foot impatiently.

"Fine. Don't then." Brendon said, starting to draw back his hand as Ryan snaked his arm into the bag quickly, pulling out a large, blueberry muffin, the fruit staining his fingertips a light shade of purple as he tried to figure out how to hold it.

Brendon took a demonstrative bite of his, Ryan blushing like he felt ridiculous for needing a seminar on baked goods. He watched before shifting his gaze down to his own muffin, biting into the wrapper as he made a face. Brendon laughed, taking a seat next to him as he shook his head, his shaggy hair dangling into his eyes.

"No no, you take the paper off first." Ryan spat it out, his cheeks flushing pink as he peeled the rest of the wrapper off with difficulty, his thin fingers fumbling awkwardly. Brendon thought he looked adorable when he was embarrassed.

"I, I knew that." He mumbled, taking another bite as Brendon smiled at him, his eyes drifting down to the pale triangle of skin exposed on Ryan's chest where the flannel he was wearing was unbuttoned. "Did you get that at Kohl's?" Brendon asked, nodding towards his shirt, "I bought the same one a week ago."

Ryan's eyes widened as he swallowed his muffin loudly, breaking off a piece and feeding it to a passing squirrel. Ryan probably looked better in that shirt than Brendon had, even though it was ungodly tight and buttoned wrong. He looked good in red plaid. After a brief second of pondering and imaging Ryan in various outfits, Brendon had come to the conclusion that Ryan probably looked good in everything. Not to mention the fact that his goddamn legs were practically porn in the black skinny jeans he had squeezed himself into, which Brendon found slightly upsetting because his legs didn't look nearly as good in those jeans; he had the same ones. He also had bought the same sneakers Ryan was wearing his freshman year. Brendon paused, his eyes flickering down towards Ryan's wrist. The leather band bracelet he was wearing was a Christmas gift to Brendon in the 6th grade from his aunt.

"Are those my clothes?"

"No!" Ryan shouted a little too quickly as Brendon tried to appear angered.

"They're not?" He said, making a point to look Ryan in the eyes.

Ryan huffed. "Well, maybe some of them."

Brendon laughed as Ryan took a furious bite out of his muffin, the squirrel whom Ryan had been feeding looking to Brendon eagerly before letting out a squeak. Brendon shook his head, finishing his muffin in one bite which earned him an angry smack on the bicep from Ryan before he generously gave the rest of his to the squirrel.

"How'd you even get them?" Brendon asked, amused as Ryan watched the animal maul the pastry, his wide cheeks staining with blueberry sauce before Ryan gave him an affectionate scratch behind the ears. Brendon thought it was strange, but considering Ryan was a nymph, he decided it was probably some weird connection he had with nature and not questioning it would be best.

"I may, kind of, followed you to your house yesterday and um snuck into your window while you were asleep and uh, took them." He mumbled, blushing furiously. Brendon's smile quickly dissipated as he tried to remember what he had worn for pajamas, hoping they didn't have anything too embarrassing on them like trucks, or–

Ryan looked over at him his face practically scarlet as he gulped. "I mean, uh, don't worry, I fixed your covers so I didn't see anything."

_Oh._

Trucks would've been much less embarrassing he decided.

Ryan laughed whimsically, his eyes adverting as the squirrel climbed into his lap, demanding to be pet. "I um, hope your not mad. I just wanted to look more like, y'know. A human."

Brendon sighed, shaking his head. "It's fine. Keep them." Ryan gave him a confused look, his hand freezing in the squirrel's ruffled fur. "Seriously it's okay. They look cute on you."

Ryan's cheeks instantly flared bright red, his golden eyes darting toward his feet before he reached into the paper bag, pulling out the other muffin and taking an unnecessarily large bite. "Thank, Thank you." Ryan muttered through his muffin, crumbs falling into his lap.

Brendon smiled at him, watching piece of muffin drop onto his jeans. "Okay then Peter Pan, you ready to go?"

Ryan and the squirrel exchanged annoyed glances.

Brendon sighed, trying not to let himself appear as weirded out as he was. "I'll take that as a yes then." He pushed himself off the ground, stealing a piece of Ryan's muffin as the squirrel hopped onto Ryan's shoulder, intensely focused on devouring the crumb clasped in his small claws.

* * *

The car ride was short. Brendon hadn't wanted the squirrel to come considering he had an expensive, brand new car (if you consider a used 2005 Toyota Camry brand new and expensive) but Ryan had insisted and the more Brendon tried to say no to him, the more he found himself failing.

Brendon hadn't realized how hard it was to explain the purpose of seat belts to someone who had flown everywhere his entire life, but after about five minutes of embellished car accident horror stories Ryan begrudgingly put it on, mumbling something about how if Brendon really knew what he was doing, he wouldn't need it. Brendon chose to ignore him.

Like Brendon had predicted, half the school was already in the courtyard, clustered together in groups. A few people perked their heads up at his presence, smiling in the direction of his car before waving at him curtly. He made a half-assed attempt to smile back, although he knew that they probably couldn't see him through the tinted windows.

He parked, sliding the keys out of the ignition before turning to Ryan, who was smiling wider than he had ever seen him smile before, his eyes glued to a spot across the parking lot.

"He's here?" Brendon assumed as Ryan nodded his head, lifting his hand to point across the lot to a stalky, blonde boy wearing a navy blue and white varsity jacket, shouting loudly with a group of his friends.

Brendon felt his heart sink, fidgeting uncomfortably. "That's Dan Keyes." He said flatly.

Ryan breathed dreamily, a soft smile across his lips. "Dan Keyes," He repeated.

Yep. Dan Keyes alright. Dan Keyes with his actual brand new sports car and his dumb, blue and white buttons that say "Vote Dan!" on them and his near-perfect defensive check and his stupid-looking fluffy, blonde hair and his long legs. The Dan Keyes Ryan was so enamored with. Fuck him. Fuck Dan Keyes.

Brendon tried to smile, feeling slightly more miserable than he did a few minutes ago.

"So uh, go out there and ask him out, then." He said, adverting his gaze towards the steering wheel.

"You're not coming with me?" Ryan asked suddenly, turning towards Brendon.

"No, I uh I'm not. I'd probably ruin your chances with him."

Ryan stared at him. "Elaborate."

Brendon laughed anxiously. "Dan and I, we don't get along. Necessarily. So, I can't really help you here." Brendon sighed as Ryan's smile faltered.

"Huh?"

"Well, I'm like captain of the lacrosse team, which Dan wanted to be and Dan's um, he's, no it's really not him, it's-it's me uh, I'm going to be uh homecoming king, or on the homecoming court at least,"

Ryan smiled, a slightly confused look on his face. "Where's homecoming?"

Brendon laughed slightly and Ryan looked at the squirrel, who just shrugged. "Homecoming isn't a place, it's an event, like kind of a really big event. But um the problem is that, Dan also really, really wants to be homecoming king and uh, yeah." Brendon finished, knowing perfectly well how terrible of a friend (if you could call it that) he was by making him do it alone, but Dan was an asshole. If Brendon went over there with Ryan, they would get treated like shit and Ryan would be crushed. Brendon couldn't have that.

Ryan took a long, hard look at Brendon before sighing. "Okay, just what do I say?"

Brendon shot him a bittersweet smile before looking over at Dan briefly. Maybe Dan would bring Ryan to homecoming, if he liked him enough. But then again it was virtually impossible to not like Ryan. Brendon wished he could take Ryan to homecoming. "Just be like, 'Hey I'm Ryan, if you're not busy Saturday, I was wondering if you wanted to go out?"

Ryan took a deep breath and repeated the line which caused Brendon to smile slightly, despite the anchoring, melancholy feeling in his gut.

"Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"You're levitating again."

Ryan blushed, falling back against his seat hard as he laughed slightly, biting his lower lip. "Sorry, just, y'know, nervous."

"It's fine tinkerbell," Brendon mumbled, shoving him playfully, "now get out of my car and ask 'em out."

Ryan shoot Brendon a look before opening his door, mumbling "Hey, I'm Ryan" under his breath as he started towards Dan.

Brendon watched as he crossed the parking lot, his messy, brown hair being pulled in a million directions by the wind, the sleeves and hem of his tight flannel flapping gently. He was smiling shyly, his ochre eyes sparkling with anxious excitement. Brendon thought he couldn't get any more gorgeous.

He approached Dan, who instantly broke out into a smile to mirror Ryan's, leaning up against his shiny, black convertible as Brendon watched Ryan's soft-looking, pink lips mouth the words "Hey I'm Ryan, if you're not busy Saturday, I was wondering if you wanted to go out?" Dan smile grew wider as he looked Ryan up and down, Brendon tearing his eyes away, feeling horribly sick.

The squirrel looked at him, then at Ryan, and then back at him, a smug look across his features. If squirrels could look smug, Brendon thought.

"Shut up." Brendon huffed angrily, his eyes darting back towards Ryan and Dan. Ryan was anxiously fidgeting with his hair as Dan gawked at him, practically drooling over everything that he did. Gross. I mean, sure, Brendon had caught himself staring at Ryan on numerous occasions, but at least he tried to have decency, Dan was just allowing himself to eye-fuck Ryan like a barbarian. It was disgusting.

Brendon felt helpless as he watched on, the muscles in his chest tight with anger. He huffed as Dan's eyes lingered on Ryan's lips, his hands, his legs, his– fuck. That's fucking it. If that douche checked him out one more time he was going to go over there and–

"Hey, Brendon," There was a knock on his window.

Reluctantly, he pulled his eyes away from the abomination transpiring in front of him and towards his window before rolling it down. There was a girl smiling up at him anxiously, the wind pulling at her ebony colored hair as she folded her hands behind her back. _Shit_. What was her name? Sabrina? Sierra?

"Sarah, hi." Brendon managed, flashing her a quick smile. "You need something?"

She didn't smile back, stuffing her hands into her pockets shyly. "Um. Well, I uh, I know that this is kind of sudden, and not very well executed." She began, her icy blue eyes flickering towards her sandals. He wondered if her feet were cold.

Brendon gave her a casual smile, trying to look as un-intimidating as possible. He knew where this was going. Poor girl. He envisioned her walking away slowly with her heads hung in between her thin shoulders, and instantly felt guilty, his heart dropping into his stomach.

"I kind of wanted to know if you would be interested in joining me, as my date to homecoming?" She asked, but her voice sounded strained, as if she knew how futile her question would be from the beginning.

Brendon sighed, the smile on his face staring to hurt his cheeks as he let his eyes dart over towards Ryan, who was looking over at him, his eyebrows pulled together, frowning slightly.

"Um," He began, finding himself at a loss of words as he focused his gaze back on her.

She shot a glance in Ryan's direction, realization dawning on her face as her blue eyes widened in shock. "Well, unless you were planning on taking someone else, obviously." She said quickly. 

"No no, it's not that I just– I think, I'm, I mean that, I'll think about it." Brendon finally managed, giving her a faux smile as he made a point not to look in Ryan's direction.

"Right." She smiled back, her expression holding about as much truth as Brendon's was. Smart girl. She could take a hint.

"Well, um, if that happens," She said curtly, nodding towards Ryan and Dan, "I'll uh, be around."

For a split second, Brendon was slightly offended because honestly it was so not her business who he took. In fact, he hadn't even planned on asking Ryan at all. What did she know?

She shot a long glance at Ryan who was practically skipping towards the car before giving Brendon a short wave and walking off, slinging her brown messenger bag over her shoulder. They made eye contact as they walked past each other, Brendon watching Ryan's face drop as Sarah gave him a small, closed-mouth smile before re-joining her group of friends, his shoulders slumping as Brendon felt his do the same.

Brendon straightened as Ryan opened the car door and resumed his position in the passenger seat, ignoring the squirrel's excited squeaking. He stared at the tarnished leather covering the airbag, his hands folding together in his lap weakly.

"Hey there romeo. How was it?" Brendon asked cheerfully, thoroughly put off by his sudden mood change.

Ryan looked up at Dan who was still staring after him, a sad smile playing at his lips. "It, yeah it went great. We're gonna get dinner on Sunday and go to um a, what's that game? With the sticks."

"Lacrosse?"

"Yeah." Ryan sighed, staring down at his sneakers.

Brendon and the squirrel exchanged worried glances, and had this been any other circumstance, Brendon most likely would've freaked out.

Ryan spoke, lifting his head up as his curls bounced along his cheeks, his teeth catching the edges of his tawny-rose colored lips. Brendon wished he had a camera, or a photographic memory. Although he looked hurt, he was still beautiful, the way the sunlight brought out streaks of gold in his hair, his fair skin glowing ever-so-slightly. Brendon sat in awe, taking in a deep breath as Ryan stared at him, waiting for a response.

"Huh?" He asked, carding his fingers through the front of his hair as Ryan huffed, but the usual friendliness wasn't there.

"Who is she?"

"Who's who?" Brendon asked, resting his elbows on the steering wheel as he gave Ryan a bemused look.

"That girl." He practically spat, his eyes flashing in the direction of Sarah and her friends.

"Sarah?" He said questioningly while Ryan shot vicious glares in her direction. Their eyes met again and Ryan's frown deepened as Sarah smiled, like she didn't care.

"What about her?"

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"No?" Brendon answered, the corners of his lips turning downwards as Ryan adverted his gaze, seemingly looking anywhere but at Brendon.

Ryan muttered a soft "Oh," his expression unreadable as a feeling of sadness stirred in Brendon's stomach.

Silence.

Ryan's eyes scanned the sea of people, stopping on Dan as he bit his lip.

Stupid Dan. Brendon was totally going to make Dan run extra laps at captain's practice. Maybe Ryan would come to their practices, once he and Dan were a thing, or even their games. Brendon would like that. You know, if he and Ryan were hypothetically dating and it was Brendon he was cheering for instead of Dan or if it was Brendon's jersey Ryan wore everywhere and not Dan's or–

"So, I guess I'll see you in the woods then. When I'm on walks and stuff." Brendon said shaking the thought from his head as he started his ignition back up.

"What!?" Ryan asked, his head whipping in Brendon's direction, voice thick with panic.

"I mean, you don't really need me anymore–"

"Brendon!" Ryan cut him off, his breathing having increased rapidness slightly as his golden eyes widened.

Brendon felt himself try to smile, but fail miserably as he took a deep breath. "Ryan, look it's not you, I just don't want to end up too–" Hopeful. Attached. Infatuated. Brendon sighed.

"Brendon, c'mon you can't just leave me."

"I'm not! I'll still be in the woods plenty, I mean–"

"Is it because of her?" Ryan asked suddenly, folding his arms over his thin chest.

"Jesus Christ no, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Brendon said, shaking his head.

Ryan pouted, Brendon's insides instantly melting into sludge. "Then what is it? Brendon I need you, without you I'm just a floating, socially-inept mess!"

Brendon pulled his gaze away from Ryan's desperate eyes, dropping his hands to the steering wheel.

 _Needs me_. He scoffed at the thought. Ryan didn't need him. Ryan didn't need anyone, really, especially not someone as ordinary as himself. Ryan could get anything he wanted from anyone if he put his mind to it, with his well-timed, shy smiles and button nose and shiny enthusiasm. The way he could give you one look with those amber eyes that made you feel powerless, like you would walk through all hell if he asked you to. Ryan didn't need Brendon. Ryan had charm and a sense of humor and nimble nymph hands and a magical laugh with jingly feet and adorable nervous habits that made Brendon feel like his insides were soup. Ryan didn't need a properly buttoned shirt or neat hair. His disheveled appearance and awkwardly long legs should've made him look goofy, but didn't. He looked graceful actually, it only went to enhance his beauty. Ryan didn't need Brendon.

Ryan sighed, his eyes deflated as he looked up at Brendon from under his long, dark eyelashes, his soft-looking lower lip jutting out slightly.

Maybe Brendon needed Ryan.

He swallowed. "You know, your buttons are in the wrong holes."

Ryan frowned down at his shirt, scowling as Brendon reached over and started swiftly undoing all the buttons, attempting not to get distracted by the sudden amount of over-exposed flesh on Ryan's chest.

Brendon felt Ryan's eyes on him as he redid them, the pads of his fingertips sending jolts of nerves through his body every time they accidentally brushed against Ryan's skin. He straightened out his collar, smoothening the folds the wind had made before reaching up and ruffling Ryan's hair, a sad smile spreading across his lips.

To say Brendon would miss him would be an understatement. In two days, Ryan had become more important in his life than most people, whether it was the flaming, instantaneous crush, or something else Brendon had no idea, but being with Ryan felt natural. Even if Ryan was with Dan, maybe he could make a good friend. Someone to go on walks with.

"I'll see you at the same time tomorrow then, I don't have school so we can work out how your date's going to go. Dating ettiequte, all that." Brendon said, shutting down the engine.

"Wait, you're not going to leave me?"

Brendon made a face. "I guess not."

Hesitantly, Ryan reached over and hugged him, smiling gently against the skin on his neck. "Thank you." He muttered and Brendon felt himself jump, attempting to cover it up by wrapping his arms around Ryan in return. Ryan felt fragile.

"What's Urie?" Ryan asked suddenly, causing Brendon to let go of him instantly. 

"What?"

"Dan said he was um surprised I asked him out because 'He could've sworn Urie was giving me love eyes,' but I didn't know what Urie was so I didn't say anything." Brendon smiled.

"Oh." Was all he said.

* * *

The next morning, Brendon took roughly two steps into the woods before he was practically attacked with a hug, Ryan's bony limbs draping over his body like a limp curtain made entirely of dead weight. "Hello to you too," Brendon laughed, taken off guard but not exactly complaining as Ryan smiled at him, causing Brendon's heart to flutter in his stomach.

"Goooood morning." Ryan practically sang, still hanging off of Brendon as birds started to circle them, chirping excessively.

"What's with the birds?" Brendon asked, furrowing his eyebrows but a smile remaining teasing the corners of his lips. Ryan blushed, straightening his posture but keeping one arm looped around Brendon's waist as they started to walk, Brendon noting that it was difficult to keep up with Ryan's long steps.

"You and I are going on a date." Ryan enthused.

Brendon stopped short, looking up at Ryan with a bewildered expression. "We are?" He asked, his tone meant to sound sarcastic and uninterested but instead coming out more hopeful. He cursed himself internally.

Ryan urged Brendon back into walking beside him, shaking his head. "Well, sort of. Date simulator, like here. In the woods. Y'know in our spot." He continued, his boots making soft crunches as he bounced along the fallen leaves. Brendon felt his face grow hot, his pulse quickening. Our spot. Brendon hadn't realized that they had spot. A wonderful little spot of woods that was theirs. The thought brought a smile to his lips. Naturally it was their spot. Of course it was. It was where they had met everyday since the first encounter, every time he thought of that spot with it's specks of sunlight and hazy autumn glow Brendon thought of Ryan. Brendon decided it was nice to have a spot. Brendon bet that Dan and Ryan didn't have a spot.

"And what are we going to do once we get to our spot, exactly?" He asked, trying out the words in his mouth. Our spot. He smiled.

Brendon noticed that Ryan looked good today. Well, to be fair, he looked good everyday but today he looked especially good. He was wearing his dark green jacket again along with yet another pair of black pants that looked almost as if they had been spray painted onto his legs, his tall brown boots back as well. Brendon though that he looked very Ryan.

"Well," Ryan stated, looking down at his shoes, "I kind of thought you would walk me through that." Brendon cocked an eyebrow at him as Ryan rested his head on the side of Brendon's, smiling at him softly.

"Right." Brendon mumbled, his body shifting against Ryan's, their hips knocking every other step. "Why?"

Ryan gave him a look as if it were obvious before kicking at a pile of wet leaves that ended up stuck to the toe of his boot. "We date today, and then anything I do wrong you tell me so I won't do it tomorrow."

Brendon gave him a slightly skeptical look before nodding. "Okay."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, Brendon noticing that Ryan was acting a more off the deeper into the woods they got. His smiles came more forced, his jingles sounded foreign and tense and his voice sounded a little too pitchy to be right. It worried Brendon more than he cared to admit. "Are you okay?" Brendon asked him as they made their way into the clearing, biting on his lower lip slightly.

Ryan cocked his head to the side and Brendon felt his heart jump as Ryan's golden eyes drifted down to his lips for a brief moment before flickering back up to his gaze. "I'm-I'm fine, why?"

Brendon shot him a worried look, the edges of his lips slipping downwards. "You just seem a little different, that's all."

Ryan blushed hard, his steps slowing to a stop as he let go of Brendon, kicking at the damp leaves below him. "Oh, I just–I don't," He sighed, his swinging leg coming to a stop on the ground next to his other, "I mean I've never really," He stopped, burying his face in his hands as he stomped lightly, an unpleasant-sounding clash emitting from his heel.

"Hey." Brendon punched his arm, not failing to notice when their knees brushed. "I signed up for a date, not a miserable, flustered elf." Ryan looked up, scowling.

"Nymph." He amended, his arms folding over his chest. Pause. "Are you sure you want to do the date thing? Like with me?" He asked, his lips tightening.

Brendon shrugged, in attempt to cover the fact that his heart was pumping at a steady rate of roughly ninety-three and a half beats per second. "Yeah, why not?"

Ryan bit his lower lip nervously. "Sarah won't be mad with you or anything?"

Brendon shook his head, his shaggy hair flopping onto his forehead. "Sarah's cool, but it's nothing like that."

"Oh." Ryan sighed and Brendon tried to convince himself that it was just his imagination when he looked slightly more relived. "So um, ready for the uh, thing?" Ryan asked, looking like a nervous wreck as he uncomfortably laced his hands together, like he was unsure of what to do with them.

"Yeah?" Brendon said, not quite understanding what he was agreeing to. Ryan nodded, swallowing audibly as he shuffled closer to Brendon who was looking up at him expectantly. Ryan took a deep breath, his hands slipping down to Brendon's crotch.

"What the fuck Ryan?!" Brendon yelped, backing away from Ryan as if he'd been burned, his stomach flopping as he felt his pulse quicken. Ryan looked at him, soft, honey eyes wide and innocent.

"What?" He asked, his voice somewhat hurt sounding.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Ryan shifted his weight back and forth fretfully, making Brendon instantly feel bad for yelling, his cheeks flushing a shade of red Brendon didn't even know was possible.

"D-Don't humans do this on dates? I mean, I think, I think I've heard Dan talk about it enough–"

Brendon shook his head vigorously, his entire body on edge. "No, no stop right there, I don't want to even hear about Dan and," He faltered, gnawing on his lip. Ryan's entire face flared up, Brendon's insides feeling almost electrocuted as he noticed Ryan's eyes on his lips. He took a shaky, deep breath, the ghost's of Ryan's long fingers still on his legs.

"Don't, just don't do that, okay?" Brendon said, brushing a loose piece of hair out of his eyes. "We don't do that right away, it takes time and you have to be completely comfortable, alright?"

Ryan nodded slowly, wringing his wrists together. Brendon took a deep breath, "You're not cheap like that, don't let Dan talk you into it."

Ryan looked at him slowly, his hands shaking ever-so-slightly as he wrapped his arms around Brendon's waist, resting his head on his shoulder. "Sorry, I just, I don't," Brendon sighed, draping his arms over Ryan's shoulders before nuzzling his face into the crook of his neck, allowing himself to breathe in the scent of pine and damp wood. Ryan tensed slightly, but didn't pull back as Brendon curled up against him. Ryan's skin was soft.

"Don't worry about it."

"You're not mad?" Ryan asked, his hands gentle as he wrapped his long fingers around Brendon's hipbones softly, barely touching him.

"Of course not, you didn't know." Brendon managed, Ryan choking out a strangled "Mehp" sound when Brendon decided to test his boundaries, tracing his fingers along the sleeve of Ryan's jacket, playing with the crinkles by his elbow.

"This jacket looks good on you," Brendon mused, running his hand along the folds in the thick fabric towards the soft material on his wrists.

"Really?" Ryan blushed intensely and Brendon could feel his heart picking up in his chest.

"Mmm," Brendon hummed, poking at Ryan's jaw with his nose, "It's soft too." Ryan blushed harder, his typically cool skin practically burning as Brendon dragged his lips across Ryan's neck, lowering his hand and gently running his thumb over Ryan's knuckles.

"But seriously, don't let any human do that right away, even if it is Dan. That's just never a good sign." Brendon said gently, tenderly playing with the baby-soft curls at the nape of his neck. Ryan hummed contently, Brendon's entire body twitching as Ryan slipped their fingers together, relaxing into Brendon's arms. Brendon bet that Ryan never gave Dan this good of a hug.

Fuck.

Dan.

Brendon cleared his throat as he untangled himself from Ryan's grasp, his arms feeling colder without him, despite his minimal body heat. Ryan looked slightly put off as he pulled away but managed to smile at him anyway.

"So," Ryan muttered, his eyes darting down towards Brendon's hand questioningly. Brendon stuffed it in his pocket. Ryan sighed, shoulders slumping.

"I still don't know what people do on dates." Brendon felt his knees start to feel weak again as he half-shrugged, Ryan's eyes staring into his intently. "Well I mean, your first date is really just getting to know them. Flirting. That kind of stuff."

Ryan scratched the back of his head, looking at him slightly bewildered. "Oh yeah, I knew that." Ryan very clearly lied, grabbing one arm with his opposite hand. "Flirting."

Brendon watched him quietly. Ryan watched the dirt by his toes.

"You do know what flirting is, right?" Brendon asked after a moment of quiet, his stomach doing a little flop. Ryan scoffed, blush sparking in his cheeks, face bristling.

"Of course."

Brendon leaned against the tree behind him, raising his eyebrows. "Great. Show me."

Ryan crossed his thin arms over his chest and gave Brendon a glare. Brendon stared back.

Silence.

"Fine I have no clue what I'm doing."

Brendon grinned in achievement, pushing himself off the tree and taking a step closer towards Ryan. "As cute as that is, it'll get you nowhere." Brendon felt his body start to feel stuffy as Ryan looked down at him, a scarlet blush splotched across his cheeks. "Try complimenting me."

"Complimenting you." Ryan repeated back to him, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Brendon nodded.

"Okay, so uh." He started, his eyes locking with Brendon's. Brendon gave him a soft smile,not-so-accidentally fitting his lower lip in between his teeth in the process as he relaxed his body, hips pointing forwards a little bit. Ryan gulped.

"Um, you uh you have nice um calves."

Brendon snorted, dipping his head forward to try and cover his laughter.

Ryan huffed, his face a very, very dark shade of crimson. "I'm never going to be good at this." He sighed, shoulders slumping miserably.

"Hey." Brendon said, subconsciously dropping a hand to Ryan's waist as the smile faded slightly. "You're fine. Try again." Ryan smiled weakly, nodding slowly as Brendon pocketed his hand again.

"Okay." Ryan breathed, starting to pace around Brendon anxiously. "You uh, you look really good in blue." Brendon smiled, his stomach doing a triple backflip. "I like this shirt a lot, it looks good on you." He wasn't wearing anything special, an old lacrosse jersey and a pair of black skinny jeans, but even though he didn't necessarily believe in Ryan's compliment, he still felt his heart stutter slightly in nerves. Ryan looked at him expectantly.

"Right. That's um, that's better." He managed, feeling himself straighten. "Try, uh being more personal."

"Okay," Ryan mustered, pausing in front of him, "You, uh," he froze, eyes fixating on Brendon's mouth, "you have really brown hair. And it's all, uh, soft y'know and brown and– fuck, Brendon!" Ryan glared at him, stoping his foot on the ground with a loud jingle. "I can't fucking do this when you're–" He shouted, hands coiling into fists by his sides.

"Hey," Brendon said sharply as Ryan closed his eyes, pressing his fingers to his temples. "Calm down."

Ryan inhaled, swallowing hard. His tongue brushed against his gently parted blush-colored lips, wetting them out of frustration. Brendon shifted, suddenly feeling very warm.

"When I'm what?" Brendon asked.

Ryan took a deep breath and Brendon could almost see him unwind a bit. "That thing, um with, with your lip. It's really hot, and kind of– kind of distracting."

Brendon smiled, shaking his head so his shaggy hair dangled in his eyes. "You just did it."

Ryan gave him a confused look as Brendon took a step back. "Did what?"

"You flirted with me."

Ryan's tense, slightly frustrated expression melted off his face as he looked down at Brendon hopefully. "I did?"

Brendon smiled wider. "Yeah. You did."

"Fuck, I did!" Ryan exclaimed, his feet hovering an inch above the ground in excitement.

Brendon raised his eyebrows, nodding towards the dirt.

"Right, right, sorry. But I flirted with you! Successfully!" He enthused, his toes making a happy jingle as they touched the ground.

"Well don't stop," Brendon said and Ryan looked at him for a brief second like he was growing another head. "Right. Okay. Okay. Your lips," He began, pacing around Brendon again, excitement practically bubbling through his mouth. "They're–" Ryan suddenly froze behind him, the excited jingles coming to an abrupt stop. "Urie."

Brendon felt his heart slam in his chest as he turned around, Ryan staring at him in slight awe. "What?"

"Your shirt." Ryan clarified, his honey eyes wide and alert. "It says Urie on the back."

Brendon gave him a confused smile, tilting his head to the side slightly. "Yeah. That's me."

Ryan shot him an equally as confused look.

"Brendon Urie." Brendon said. Ryan looked adorable when he was confused. Ryan Urie. Brendon snapped out of it, clearing his throat.

"Oh." Was all he said. He took a step closer. Brendon felt himself tense, looking up at Ryan with the biggest doe eyes he could manage, biting his lip as he edged towards him.

"Brendon," Ryan said, brushing his hand through his curls languidly, "I um, I really like your eyes. They're pretty." Brendon smiled, bumping his hand against Ryan's thigh, causing Ryan to blush intensely.

"I like yours too." Brendon said, sighing a little.

"Right, uh you do?" Ryan asked, his tone quivering. "Yeah, they're kind of gorgeous." He said, gently resting his hands on Ryan's stomach as he made a point to suck on his lower lip. Ryan seemed to blank momentarily, his face slack as a constant flow of "uh" escaped his lips.

"What, what are you doing?" Ryan asked finally, his eyes floating down to Brendon's hands.

"You don't expect Dan to sit there like a incompetent brick do you?"

Ryan laughed anxiously, his curls sweeping against his cheekbones. "Right, Dan. Dan um sitting there, no, I uh, I guess I don't."

Brendon tucked his arms around his waist, smiling up at him easily, still slightly gnawing on his lower lip.

"Oh come on." Ryan groaned, his face darkening in color. "Now you're doing it on purpose." Brendon laughed, letting his forehead tip forward onto Ryan's chest, smiling uncontrollably.

"So what if I am?"

"Well that's not very nice." Ryan huffed, his long fingers brushing through Brendon's hair tenderly. "You have soft hair." Brendon hummed, looking back up at him lovingly, his heart slamming against his chest. "And I love it when you smile, y'know." Ryan continued, a smile of his own playing at his lips, "it makes my heart do this thing where it speeds up really quick." He said anxiously, placing one of his large, cold hands over Brendon's and sliding it up to his chest. Brendon smiled at him, knees weak. "See! You feel it?" Ryan asked as Brendon laughed, nuzzling his face into the base of Ryan's neck.

"Yes, I feel it." He laughed, kissing the underside of Ryan's jaw before pulling back from a very stunned, very red nymph, who looked as if he were about to pass out. Brendon thought he couldn't get any more adorable. "You're adorable." Brendon said and he could practically see Ryan melt into a flustered mess. Ryan giggled, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head.

"That's– I mean Thanks."

Brendon let go of him, taking a step back as he leaned against a tree, slouching to the ground whilst running his fingers through his hair. Ryan was perfect. "No problem."

Ryan sighed, looking at him affectionately as Brendon felt his heart flutter.

Ryan shook his head. "So, that's it? You just, you just do that and then leave?" He asked, his eyes questioning as he bit down on his lower lip. "I mean that was, cool, but like," Ryan mumbled, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"He could try to kiss you." Brendon said, his stomach turning at the thought.

"What's that?" Ryan asked, crisscrossing his legs as he sat down next to him, his curls dangling into his eyes.

"Nymphs don't kiss each other?"

Ryan shook his head no, a slight pink staining his complexion as he shrugged. "We don't show affection like you do, we usually hardly talk to our spouses."

"Romantic." Brendon deadpanned, earning himself a slight chuckle from Ryan. Brendon didn't want Ryan to ever stop laughing. He was gorgeous. Ryan smiled, his cheeks reddening as he rested his head on Brendon's shoulder, his nose pressing against the skin in the crook of his neck.

"How do you kiss someone?"

"It's hard to explain, lots of lips and tongues and stuff." Brendon answered, his stomach fluttering in anxiety as he looked at Ryan.

"Sounds complicated." Ryan sighed, his silky hair brushing against Brendon's cheek.

"Not once you've practiced."

"Can you show me?" Ryan asked, lifting his head off Brendon's shoulder and looking at him softly. Brendon let himself chuckle, looking over at Ryan as he tried not to appear anxious.

"It takes two people."

Ryan didn't frown, but he didn't smile either, just stared at him, his gentle gaze practically melting Brendon's amused facade. "I'll be your second person." Ryan said, his expression serious as he folded his arms over his chest. Brendon snorted, his face loosing color slowly as Ryan's gaze started to turn into a glare.

"You won't like it, it's very touchy." Brendon mocked, poking him in the shoulder playfully. "I can deal with touchy." Ryan snapped, exhaling irritatedly.

Brendon sighed. It's not that he didn't want to kiss Ryan because in all honesty, that's all he'd wanted to do from the moment he met him. He couldn't get those soft, gentle lips out of his mind, no matter what he tried to focus on, they were always there; the image vividly stained into his brain. Frowning, smiling, laughing, speaking and honestly, it was slowly driving him insane. His eyes flickered down to Ryan's lips momentarily. Why was he reluctant to do this again?

He sighed loudly, his eyes meeting Ryan's again as he started to frown. "Fine, fine, just tell me if you get uncomfortable at any point and-and I'll stop, okay?" Brendon asked as Ryan nodded, Brendon's stomach sinking like a rock.

Brendon gave him a meek smile before crawling onto his lap and wrapping his legs around his middle, Ryan's eyes getting wide almost instantly as he stiffened, swallowing hard. Instinctively, Brendon started brushing his hand along Ryan's chest, tracing his hands up to his neck before tangling them in his soft, brunette curls, Ryan's breathing seeming to have stopped. He smiled a little, caressing the smooth skin on his cheek with one hand, Ryan's eyes transfixed on Brendon's, his mouth parted in terror.

"You alright? I'll stop if you want me to." He managed, although he couldn't think of anything else in the world he rather wouldn't do. Ryan made a small noise of protest, his cold hands placing themselves on Brendon's hips as he closed his mouth, Brendon resisting every urge to throw himself at Ryan then and there. "No, no don't, just–just you're really warm and it shocked me that's all." He smiled coyly, his long fingers tucking themselves under the hem of Brendon's t-shirt.

"Alright," Brendon mumbled, drawing his lips close to Ryan's, Brendon's hands slowly sliding down Ryan's neck. "Ryan?"

Ryan gulped. "Yeah?"

He managed, his voice shaking.

"You're making us levitate."

"Oh, uh sorry I'll just," He stammered, blushing intensely as he softly landed on the ground, his gilded irises sparkling nervously as took a deep breath, his hands balling up Brendon's t-shirt as he grabbed at it timidly.

"It's okay, I'm nervous too." Brendon admitted which only seemed to fluster Ryan further. His eyes floated down towards Ryan's quivering lips, his heart beating aggressively as Ryan stared at him, utterly petrified. "It's better if you close your eyes." Brendon advised him, which earned him a half-terrified, half-skeptical look from Ryan before he complied, Brendon twisting his fingers in Ryan's curls again before leaning in, his eyes drifting shut just as his lips brushed against Ryan's slowly, a tiny huff of air escaping from Ryan's chest.

Brendon kissed him again soft, his lips gentle as he opened his mouth just slightly wider causing Ryan to tense even more if it was possible, feeling more like a stone than anything living in Brendon's hands. "Kissing back would be appreciated." He mumbled, his lips moving against Ryan's tenderly. His lips were cool, just like the rest of him and tasted like maple syrup. Brendon loved it.

"Oh right, um–" Brendon cut him off by pressing their lips together again, Ryan hesitantly starting to kiss back as Brendon gently traced his hands along Ryan's collarbone, parting for air before kissing him again, Brendon feeling slightly dizzy. He smiled against Ryan's lips, playing with the loose curls at the end of his neck.

"Relax, it's just me." Brendon muttered against his lips, their breaths intertwining as Ryan's breathing started to pick up.

"Just you." He repeated breathlessly as he nodded, his lips slightly moist as Brendon felt somethings stir inside of his stomach, his heart threatening to tear right through his chest.

"Brendon?" Ryan asked, his eyes fluttering half open as he pulled him closer to his body, shaking.

"Mmm?" Brendon responded his forehead falling against Ryan's gently as he nuzzled his face, his lips hovering over Ryan's, just barely touching.

"Can you do it again?"


	2. The Second Half

Sunday passed by torturously slowly.

Brendon sauntered around the woods, his sneakers grabbing at soggy leaves as he tried not let any thoughts of Ryan or Ryan's soft, sugary lips or Ryan's sparkling, golden eyes or Ryan's messy, silky curls or long, skinny legs or how much he missed the way he smiled at animals like they were neighbors or the way he tilted his head to the side when he laughed implant themselves in his brain. Unfortunately, trying was not succeeding.

He thought about going home. He thought about quitting moping around, feeling sorry for himself and watching the game instead, drinking hot chocolate and forgetting about the idea of Ryan and Dan looking at the same thing he was, Ryan snuggled into Dan's arms, his cute button nose frosted pink from the cold as Dan booed a call the refs made, Ryan looking up at Dan with that glowing smile, happy to be where he was. He shook his head and kept walking. It seemed eerily quiet and spacious without him, all the birds were silenced, the absence of Ryan's excited jingles haunted Brendon's every step. Brendon didn't like it at all. Brendon wanted his jingles back.

He slumped his shoulders, dropping his eyes to the ground. He missed Ryan's voice. Missed Ryan's laugh. Brendon wondered if Dan could make him laugh.

He sighed deeply, shaking his head. This was sad, he needed to get over himself.

He didn't even flinch as a furry, gray ball tumbled through his legs, breaking the desolate silence.

"Hi." He said flatly. The squirrel looked over at him as he stopped walking, the sound of his sneakers pushing away leaves silencing. "Nice out, isn't it?" He scrunched his nose up, looking around at the mostly-bare trees aimlessly. This was really sad. If only his classmates could see him now, their future homecoming king brooding and heartbroken alone in the woods, talking his problems out to a squirrel. This was fucking pathetic.

The squirrel looked up at him with wide eyes, cocking its head to the side in a questioning manner.

"He's not here today." He mumbled, letting his feet find their way to their spot as the squirrel bounced after him. He thought about shooing it away, but ultimately let his loneliness decide he could use the company.

Brendon sighed. The trees looked more barren than yesterday. Their spot, once bright and familiar felt empty, Ryan-less. The words had lost their luster. Instead, they made Brendon feel hollow, like there was a giant hole punctured through his heart. A rather skinny, tall, Ryan-shaped hole.

Brendon bit his lip. He slumped against his tree, feeling sad. Brendon wondered if Ryan had done his cute levitating act at all or accidentally caused vines to crawl up any of the rival players' legs. Maybe he had made tulips or roses appear out of thin air for Dan. Ryan was precious.

He missed him.

He sighed, remembering the way Ryan's lips moved against his delicately, the way he felt soft and fragile in his arms, like if Brendon had squeezed him too tight he would break. Ryan had demanded a lot of kissing practice throughout the day which caught Brendon off guard more often than not, kissing him in random bursts. Brendon had tried not to get used to it, but melted helplessly into Ryan's lips every time. He missed kissing practice. He missed Ryan.

"What the fuck am I doing?" He asked the squirrel, letting out a harsh breath and resting his elbows on his knees. The squirrel, much to Brendon's relief, did not respond.

Stupid Dan was probably explaining what a body-check was to Ryan, his arms around him, smiling into his soft hair. Brendon scowled at the thought. He wanted to be the one to explain what a body-check was to Ryan. He wanted to be the one to invite Ryan to watch his practices and kiss him goodbye in the middle of the parking lot before school and he wanted to be the one Ryan came over to after games and gave him a tight, excited hug, not minding he was all sweaty and gross because he was his boyfriend. Stupid Dan was holding everything he had ever wanted in a guy as Brendon sat in the woods, cold, lonely and miserable.

The squirrel climbed onto his lap and he gave it a hesitant pat.

"I hope he's having fun." Brendon said to no one in particular. A few leaves spiraled down towards the ground. "I miss him." He added, more directly towards the squirrel.

The squirrel, apparently done with Brendon's brief lamenting, scrambled off of his lap and up the tree behind him, bushy tail flicking. So much for company.

He sighed, watching it shimmy up the trunk when he froze, his eyes catching on a low branch as his heart lurched against his chest. He scowled, tilting his head as he bit down on his lower lip, stomach curling. Roughly etched into the bark were the two small letters R and B conjoined by a poorly-carved heart. Brendon didn't know whether he felt like smiling or breaking down in a broken ball of tears.

* * *

Water rolled down a strand of Brendon's hair as he leaned against a tree, flipping through his playbook absentmindedly, his t-shirt clinging to his damp back. He was only half-hoping that Ryan would be around today. He wasn't in the mood for listening about how spectacular of a kisser Dan was, but he decided that any time with Ryan was still time with Ryan.

He flipped the page, scowling down at the packet. Scribbled onto the paper in black sharpie there was a play that Dan had come up with, cleverly naming it "Dan's Play." It was a stupid play. Sure, it worked 99.9% of the time, but still. Stupid play.

"Hi."

Brendon looked up, his breath caught in his throat. He was starting to think that he would never get used to Ryan's beauty.

He looked the same as ever, but somehow even prettier. Green bomber jacket, colorful leaf crown, curly wisps of hair dangling in front of his shining, amber eyes, the tip of his nose pink from the cold. Brendon sighed.

"Whatcha doing?" Ryan asked, his curls shifting along his defined cheekbones. Brendon had to resist the urge to push them off of his face.

"Reading plays." Brendon responded quietly as Ryan sat down next to him, looking over his shoulder.

"Plays?" Ryan repeated, cocking his head to the side. His golden colored eyes looked tired, maybe a little disappointed too. Brendon felt a lump start to form in his throat.

Brendon nodded, a few drops of water from his hair running down his jawline. "Yeah, for lacrosse. The Xs are people on my team, the Os are the people we're against."

He nodded. "Which X is you?" Ryan asked, obviously feigning interest. Brendon pointed to the middle one.

A small smile flickered at the edges of Ryan's lips before he shifted his gaze toward's Brendon's eyes, brushing a soft-looking curl out of his face. "You're wet."

"Yeah, I just showered. I had lacrosse practice."

Ryan nodded, "I know. I was there."

Brendon frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. "I didn't see you."

He shrugged. "That was my intention."

Brendon looked at him, bemused. Ryan avoided his gaze.

"You're a good lacrosser, y'know."

"Thanks." Brendon said staring at him for a little longer than necessary. Ryan looked sad. His jingles were hardly existent, the corners of his lips turned downwards ever so slightly, his shoulder haunched.

"So, how was it?" Brendon asked, trying to keep any negative energy out of his voice for Ryan's sake.

"Well," Ryan started, slumping against the tree. "It was, in his words, _lovely_."

Brendon decided not to ask what that meant and just kept looking at Ryan tentatively instead. "Did you have fun?"

"Yes." Ryan responded, leaning his head against Brendon's shoulder which shocked him. He had thought that once Ryan had gone on a date with Dan all the flirting would stop and he could move on. No more magic, no more adorable, nervous levitation or jingly steps or pretty, hazel eyes. He would be Ryan-less just like how he was before. Apparently, this was not the case.

"What'd you do?"

"We um, we went to watch people play lactose and then walked around the place after."

"You mean lacrosse?"

"Yeah." Ryan mumbled, burying his face in Brendon's shoulder.

"Are you sure that's all that happened?" Brendon asked, knowing that he shouldn't prod, but c'mon. The boy was clearly hurting.

"Well um he kissed me, and then we talked about homecoming." Ryan said, and Brendon felt his stomach churn.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Silence.

"Was it any good?"

"It was, I guess." Brendon slid his arm around Ryan's waist, leaning his head against Ryan's mess of curls as Ryan sighed.

"Did he ask you to be his date?"

Ryan nodded, his eyelashes casting dark shadows over his soft cheeks.

"What'd you say?"

Ryan sunk deeper into Brendon, slouching into his shoulder. "Maybe."

Brendon felt an uncontrollable wave of relief wash over him. He didn't hear a yes. "Hey, you okay?" He muttered, his lips placing a hesitant kiss in Ryan's hair.

Ryan flinched but didn't move, Brendon's stomach turning uncomfortably. Ryan shook his head and wrapped his arms around Brendon's middle, leaning into his chest as damp wood and pine filled his nose. Brendon put his other arm around Ryan protectively, pulling him closer for comfort. "What'd he do?"

Ryan swallowed, nuzzling into Brendon's chest, his body feeling like dead weight in his arms."He didn't do anything."

"What happened then?" Brendon asked, running a hand down Ryan's back before kissing the top of his head again. Ryan was quiet, clinging to Brendon softly. Brendon sighed. Try, try, and try again.

"Start from the game." Brendon managed, tracing his hand along Ryan's spine.

"Ok." Ryan said, his voice cracking. "We, um watched people do lacrosse for a few hours and he was really into it y'know? And I saw that guy that was on your wall," Brendon was about to say he had multiple posters of lacrosse players hung up in his bedroom but decided that it would be best just to let Ryan continue, "and then, I told him that I knew him because of you and he just said that that was lovely and we went on a lovely walk in the woods after and the leaves were lovely and the trees were lovely and he talked about homecoming and I said that you were going to be homecoming king and he said that was lovely and then he asked if he could kiss me and he did and it was like kissing a lovely, incompetent brick."

Brendon fought back a smile because clearly, Ryan was upset, but something about Ryan admitting that Dan wasn't as great as he had made him out to be brightened Brendon's mood for some horrible reason. "So, you didn't like him?"

"No, I didn't. He was boring and yeah, he liked nature but it's more entertaining when you have to yell at someone for ripping apart grass or, or denying squirrels the basic rights to eat muffins that cute boys give you, or–"

"Cute?" Brendon asked, running his fingers through Ryan's ruffled hair.

"Adorable." Ryan confirmed, turning his head and kissing the underside of Brendon 's jaw angrily, Brendon's heart fluttering into his throat. "And if I'm going to this homecoming thing I certainly don't want to spend it talking about his car, or his play, or- or you."

Brendon raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Me?"

"All he does is talk badly about you." Ryan mumbled, his cheeks sparking light pink.

"That's a problem for you?"

"Well, yeah it is." Brendon felt every muscle in his body tense, his throat constricting, Ryan looking up at him expectantly. Brendon didn't say anything.

"Aren't you mad at me?" Ryan asked, sounding a little hurt as Brendon tucked his playbook into his backpack, sighing.

"No, of course not."

Ryan didn't look convinced, his dark eyebrows pulling together. "Why?"

Brendon frowned. "Why would I be?"

"Because." Ryan insisted, a few strands of hair falling into his eyes.

"Can't argue with that logic." Brendon deadpanned, raising an eyebrow.

Ryan's face flared with an emotion that Brendon couldn't decipher. "Sarcasm. See, you're mad at me."

"Ryan, you're being ridiculous. I'm not upset with you." Brendon managed.

"But you are." Ryan emphasized, lifting his head off of Brendon's shoulder.

Brendon was quiet, looking at Ryan with a confused expression on his face. Ryan huffed, pressing his hands to Brendon's shoulders and knocking him to the ground forcefully. "You're mad at me!" He insisted, pinning Brendon's arms down.

"I'm not mad at you, Ryan! Get off!" Brendon squeaked, blushing hard as he swallowed. Ryan held Brendon's wrists in place, breathing heavily as Brendon started squirming underneath him.

"No!" Ryan pleaded, his eyes widening. Brendon tried to protest, but was promptly cut off by Ryan's lips slamming against his, his taste spreading across Brendon's lips like sugar. He gave a muffled sigh as Ryan pulled back, eyebrows knitted together, breathing heavily. Brendon continued to lie on the ground as Ryan pushed himself off him, thin, soft lips parted with worry. He started to pace, wet leaves folding under his boots.

Brendon watched him, tilting his head to the side as Ryan took a few shaky breaths, his hands winding themselves in his springy curls. "No, no, no," He uttered as Brendon sat upright, Ryan's breathing becoming slightly more irregular.

Brendon was confused.

"I'm confused." Brendon said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I should go." Ryan said, shivering slightly. "I should really, really go."

Brendon frowned, walking towards him. "Ryan, are you okay?" He asked, reaching out and grabbing his hand, Ryan gasping slightly as he tangled their fingers together.

"I– Mm, I just," He shook Brendon off, swallowing hard. He began to pace again.

Brendon sighed, chewing on his lip. "Please don't go."

"Brendon, I," He choked, his body visibly shaking as he feet lifted off the ground. "I can't,"

"Calm down, okay? I– here." He said, pulling off his windbreaker and handing it over to Ryan.

"You're shivering."

"I don't mean to it's just," He froze, Brendon seizing the opportunity to wrap his jacket over Ryan's shoulders.

"I'm not angry at you, relax."

Ryan shook his head. "Not at all? Like not even a little?" He asked, his tone hopeful.

"No." Brendon said brushing a fallen piece of hair out of his eyes. "What the hell is going on?"

Ryan looked at his levitating feet.

"Brendon I like you." He confessed, gnawing on his inner cheek.

"I like you too." Brendon said automatically, crossing his arms.

"I just can't if you– what?" He hit the ground with a loud jingle, his cheeks darkening as he became suddenly very interested in the dirt by his boots. "Oh."

Brendon bit his lip, trying to contain the smile that was slowly spreading across his face. Ryan liked him. He knew it really, but out loud it sounded so sincere, implicit. He smiled wider.

"Then, why weren't you mad when I was talking about Dan?"

Brendon felt his heart rate pick up as he walked over to Ryan, his fingers reaching up and tangling themselves in the hair at the top of his neck. "You wanted me to be jealous? How old are you, five?" Ryan looked up, his sparkling eyes meeting Brendon's as he let out a sigh.

"I don't know." He said, hesitantly wrapped his arms around Brendon's waist. "I started liking you, and you and Dan hate each other– it just seemed like a good idea." Ryan tried to read his expression. "I'm sorry."

Brendon gave him a long look. "If I forgive you, will you come with me to homecoming?" Ryan flushed, his mouth dropping slightly as he stared at Brendon.

Brendon's confidence melted abruptly, his fingers finding their way into his pockets. "I mean, um. I know we just met and all, but I'd really like it, if you joined me. As my, as my date." Brendon muttered, his heart pumping vigorously. He felt Ryan look at him softly.

"Yeah. I would. Really, really would like to actually." Brendon looked up their eyes locking as Ryan blushed.

"Okay." Brendon said, his smile growing uncontrollably. "Yeah, that's great. Okay, yeah."

"Brendon?"

"Mmm?"

Ryan reached him in one step, pressing his lips against Brendon's, his long fingers tangled into Brendon's hair, the faint taste of maple syrup spilling over Brendon's mouth. He kissed back, his arms wrapping around Ryan's waist as he pulled him closer, heart hammering against chest. "You're the stupidest human I've ever met." He said softly, hit warm breath sticking to Brendon's lips. Brendon felt inebriated.

"You shower me with kindness." Brendon retorted, smiling like it was the only thing he knew how to do. Ryan shrugged coyly.

"You're wonderful." He murmured as Ryan lifted his lips off his.

"No, actually, I'm a nymph." Ryan said, placing a soft kiss on the bridge of Brendon's nose as Brendon chuckled, breathing in the scent of damp wood and pine.

"Wait a second Puck, you're losing your tiara." Brendon noticed, adjusting Ryan's leaf crown and running his fingers through his curls.

Ryan scrunched his nose up. "Who?"

* * *

"I can't believe you never had to read a Midsummer Night's Dream." Brendon complained as Ryan adjusted Brendon's plastic crown.

Boston's _More Than A Feeling_ played loudly as they swayed on the dance floor, Brendon's homecoming crown that was roughly four sizes too large shifting with his every movement, one of Ryan's hands on his hips, the other constantly trying to hold it in place.

"I mean," he continued, "with you being a fairy and all." Ryan looked down at Brendon, his yellow-brown eyes suddenly flickering with annoyance as he gripped his hip tighter.

"Brendon," He began, clearing his throat, "I am a _nymph_. N-Y-M-P-H. Not an elf. Not a fairy. A nymph."

Brendon rolled his eyes, a smile evident on his lips. "I don't care what you are, as long as you're mine." He said, pulling Ryan towards him and kissing him deeply, Ryan's stunned, open lips meeting his halfway.

Brendon slid his fingers through the baby soft curls at the top of Ryan's neck and ran his tongue along his lower lip before pushing it into his mouth, knocking their hips together.

Ryan let out a soft breath as Brendon pulled away, blinking in awe.

"Oh. Okay." Ryan managed as Brendon felt himself fit his head into the crook of Ryan's neck, swaying gently.

"You know, you don't have to be nervous." Brendon said, his lips pressed against Ryan's warm skin. "It's only me."

"I'm not." Ryan said, his voice shaky as Brendon let his hands slide along Ryan's shoulder blades.

"You're a bad liar Tinkerbell."

Ryan rolled his eyes, letting out a soft huff. "I'm not, I swear."

Brendon looked up at him smugly before placing a brief kiss on his lips. "Then stop levitating."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow honestly I never thought that I would finish this fic. I'm sorry to everyone I've kept waiting, I literally love all of you so much for all the support. You are all fantastic people. I cannot thank you enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Meg (as always) and Isabelle to whom I have been promising this fic since September. Also thank you to anyone who's read it! It means a lot to me:)


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